Be All My Secrets Remembered

Chapter Seven: The Future's Not Ours to See

September 1976

About halfway through breakfast the next morning, the Head of Gryffindor House, Professor McGonagall, beckoned Lily and Sirius away from the cluster of sixth-years with an unreadable expression. The pair, glancing somewhat dubiously at one another, followed her as she led them through the maze of corridors and up two staircases until they stopped in front of a stone gargoyle.

"Toothflossing Stringmint," she said.

At what appeared to be one of the stranger passwords they had heard, again Lily and Sirius exchanged rather puzzled looks. With a low grinding sound, a doorway appeared in the wall before them, causing them both to step back in some surprise. Professor McGonagall gestured somewhat impatiently.

"Well, go on then! Professor Dumbledore wishes to see you both."

As they made their way slowly up the curving staircase, Lily hissed, "What did you do this time?"

"Why must it always be something I did?" Sirius demanded in response. "You're not perfect."

"No, but I'm not the biggest troublemaker in the school either," she retorted.

Sirius seemed about to contradict her but thought better of it. "You've got a point. But I've been harmless this summer. I can't imagine..." he trailed off as Dumbledore's office came into view, with its myriad of magical objects and high tower walls lined with portraits of Headmasters and Headmistresses past. "Wow," was all he could say.

"You're right," Lily murmured.

Recovering enough to actually look around the room at eye level, she noted the presence of several other students. She counted mentally and the total came to ten, including herself and Sirius. All were incoming sixth-years, most of whom she recognised from one subject or another. Then, nearly crashing into her as he hurried up the staircase, the unmistakeably thin and angular Severus Snape entered the office.

"Snivellus. An unexpected pleasure." Sirius' lips twitched in a smile. "We rather missed you when Rosier chose to pay us a visit on the train yesterday."

"I had better things to do with my time, Black," retorted Snape with a glare. He ignored Lily deliberately. "What's this about?"

"We don't know yet," Lily interposed herself between them as casually as she could. "Good summer, Severus?"

He made a noncommittal noise. Sirius seemed about to speak when Dumbledore's voice echoed from above them. "Ladies and gentlemen, do please take seats." They obeyed, settling on assorted chairs and couches that had appeared out of nowhere. The Headmaster sat down behind his desk. "Now, I have no desire to keep you very long from the Great Hall, but I wish to offer my congratulations to all twelve of you. Each of you has received the single top mark in one of your Ordinary Wizarding Level Exams."

There was a flurry of reactions.

"Now, now, let me finish." He smiled, eyes sparkling, but before he could continue further, a twelfth student flew up the stairs to find himself hopelessly late. "Ah, Mr Potter. Very good of you to join us."

"I'm sorry, Professor," James murmured breathlessly, settling himself on the arm of the couch where Sirius and Lily were seated. "Professor McGonagall didn't realise I wasn't with the others until she brought them all the way here."

"Entirely understandable." Dumbledore's eyes flickered around the room. "I wish you all to know your companions here, so I will announce you one by one. Laurence Underwood from Slytherin - Arithmancy. Daniel Macmillan from Hufflepuff - Care of Magical Creatures. Severus Snape from Slytherin - Potions. Gideon Prewett from Hufflepuff - Herbology. Lily Evans from Gryffindor - Charms. Alison Thomas from Ravenclaw - Divination. Anthony Travers, also from Ravenclaw - History of Magic. Emmeline Vance from Hufflepuff - Astronomy. Sirius Black from Gryffindor - Transfiguration. James Potter, also from Gryffindor - Defence Against the Dark Arts. Dorcas Meadowes from Ravenclaw - Ancient Runes. Marion Branwell from Ravenclaw - Muggle Studies." He smiled again. "Congratulations especially to our students from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, as it is the first time we've seen so many of your number at this particular meeting of minds. At least over the years since I have been Headmaster, the top marks came almost consistently from Ravenclaw and Slytherin."

He paused for a moment or two, again noting the whispers.

"Now, I will not keep you any longer. Go on back down to breakfast...except for Mr Snape, Miss Vance, Miss Meadowes, and Mr Black. I need to speak to you four privately."

Sirius glanced at James. "Save me some food, Prongs?"

"As always. What's this about?" James asked.

"Probably about the extra subjects I'm taking," Sirius shrugged. "Don't worry. I won't be long. And by the way..." he addressed Lily, "Congratulations. I forgot to tell you yesterday."

"On what...?" she started to say before glancing down at the red-and-gold badge on her robes. "Oh yes. Thanks. It's a lot of work."

"Which is why I'd never do it. Unlike you and Moony. I suppose we really will have to behave, then," Sirius remarked with a grin. James and Lily followed the rest of the students out, leaving Sirius and Snape regarding one another warily from opposite sides of the office. Dorcas Meadowes, apparently unaware of either of the boys, was studying the assorted portraits on the wall, some of whom waved down at her. Emmeline Vance eyed the boys with some trepidation and whispered something in Dorcas' ear that caused her to glance round.

Dumbledore barely seemed to notice, though any student at Hogwarts knew better than to assume anything regarding what he saw or did not see. "Sirius, Dorcas, Emmeline, if you wouldn't mind waiting a little while so I might speak to Severus alone?"

Sirius nodded and moved down the stairs to wait in the corridor, the young ladies from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff following quickly behind him.

"Professor?" Severus asked cautiously. "Is there something wrong?"

"Not at all, Severus. You approached me this past spring regarding extra subjects, yes?" Dumbledore regarded him curiously over his spectacles. "Specifically Occlumency?"

"I did, sir," Severus met the Headmaster's eyes with creditable ease. "You told me you would think about it after you saw my O.W.L. marks."

"This is true. And I have decided to instruct you myself." If it had been anyone but Severus Snape, Dumbledore would have expected at least a smile, but he contented himself with the genuine glow of pleasure in the boy's eyes. "It is a difficult art, Severus, but you are one of the few students I have seen whom I believe to be capable of starting instruction."

"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore. This is an honour."

"I do have another question for you, Severus." Dumbledore made a show of glancing through a piece of parchment, but Severus suspected he already knew what was on it. "You received Outstanding marks in five of your O.W.L. subjects, including Potions, Transfiguration, Defence Against the Dark Arts--in which you scored the second-highest mark below Mr Potter--and Ancient Runes. In Charms, you received an 'Exceeded Expectations'. In short, Severus, I wished to enquire as to what you were thinking to do after leaving Hogwarts."

"I..." The boy flushed, glancing down at the desk. "I hadn't really thought about it, I suppose."

"Professor Agrippa has called you the brightest Potions student he has ever had the pleasure of teaching, and having seen your results, I am very much inclined to agree with him." At the growing redness in the boy's face, Dumbledore smiled. "I wondered if you had considered a career in the Ministry of Magic."

Severus jerked his head up to look at Dumbledore again, visibly surprised. "Me, sir? In the Ministry of Magic?"

"Whyever not?" The Headmaster asked.

"Because I'm...well...I don't do well at social events. I don't do well with people at all, sir, come to think of it..." He bit his lip, trailing off.

"I meant in the capacity of an Auror, Severus." Noting Severus' widening eyes, he continued, "You have all the requisite marks so far. Should you continue to do as well as you have been doing, I see nothing stopping you from entering directly into the training programme at the Ministry. I merely wondered if you were considering such a career path when you enquired about Occlumency with me."

"As it happens, I hadn't...I just...was interested, really."

"Well, I hope you will consider it. My opinion is that it would be a good path for one of your abilities." He set down the parchment. "That is all I wished to ask you. Would you please tell Sirius he may come in?"

"Yes, sir." Severus rose to his feet, visibly straighter as Dumbledore noted, and departed the room. Several seconds later, Sirius Black entered, forcing the scowl from his face.

"Professor Dumbledore?" he asked, just as cautiously as Severus had.

"Sit down, Sirius, please." The boy obeyed, a vague frown playing about his mouth, and Dumbledore glanced swiftly down at another piece of parchment. "You did receive your O.W.L. marks, did you not?"

"I did, sir. You sent them to the Potters' house in Hampstead." He hesitated for a second. "Does everyone know?"

"About the falling-out between you and your mother? Regrettably, many people do know. You did choose to stage it in the midst of your cousin's wedding reception after all," Dumbledore pointed out, albeit gently. "And then, of course, she pulled Regulus out of Hogwarts to send him to Durmstrang instead. I do not agree with her decision, but she was quite insistent."

"Good riddance," muttered Sirius. "He'd become unbearable, especially last year. I won't miss him."

Though Dumbledore's eyes narrowed at that, he did not press further on the subject of Regulus. Instead, he leant forward slightly. "Sirius, perhaps you will find this question invasive, and if you do, I apologise, but are you quite well?"

"Sir?" Sirius did frown now. "What do you mean?"

"You were gone for the entirety of the summer. I knew where you were, through numerous connections at Le Ministère in Paris, and presumably the Potters knew, but very few others did. Vanishing into the Muggle world is not an entirely--shall we say?--normal holiday for a young man of your age and temperament. Not to mention your background."

"It seemed better than having to deal with all the speculation, sir, and it was a place where nobody would ever think to look for me. I was quite alright, I promise, and I am now as well," Sirius replied, still somewhat dubious. "And I couldn't impose on Mr and Mrs Potter..."

"They view you as another son, Sirius. It would scarcely have been an issue. I had meant to have this discussion with you last January, after your father..."

"Please, sir, it doesn't matter. Really," he insisted.

The Headmaster looked him directly in the eyes, his face unreadable. "Are you quite sure?"

"I am," Sirius replied, meeting the gaze with an equally inscrutable expression.

"Very well then," Dumbledore replied with a shrug. "If you say you are alright, then I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. Which brings me to my second enquiry. Your O.W.L. marks were amongst the highest in your year and were the highest in Gryffindor--though Mr Potter was very close behind you. Severus Snape, Emmeline Vance, and Dorcas Meadowes are the other three, one from each House."

Sirius could not hide the moue of distaste at the first name.

"Sirius, I know it is not for me to decide your likes and dislikes, but I would ask you to treat Mr Snape with higher regard than you do now." It was not a command, but even so, Sirius stiffened somewhat. "We cannot deal in petty feuds, not now."

"What do you mean, not now?" Sirius asked, eager to leave the subject of Snape.

"You are familiar, I suspect, with the name of Lord Voldemort?"

A nervous frisson slithered down Sirius' spine, causing him to shudder. "I am."

"He is growing bolder, Sirius. More and more people are beginning to notice him and beginning to turn to him. Including, I believe, some members of your family."

"Sir, I promise you, I have nothing to do with--"

"I know, Sirius, I know." Dumbledore held up his hand. "These are just rumours, nothing has been proven..."

"They said that about my father too," Sirius murmured. "Nobody ever proved anything about him."

If this admission surprised the Headmaster, he said nothing of it, choosing instead to continue where he had left off, "Your cousin Bellatrix and her husband, Rodolphus Lestrange, have made statements that hint at their allegiance. I do not wish there to be conflict where none is needed, least of all within this school."

"As you say, sir." Sirius nodded slowly, a slight flush of embarrassment crossing his face. "I don't wish to be associated with any of them."

"They are still your family, Sirius, and I'm afraid the rest of the world will continue to associate you with them. Therefore it will be doubly hard for you to prove yourself." He sighed. "I wish it could be made easier, truly I do."

"I'll survive," Sirius murmured. "I tend to."

The Headmaster studied Sirius for several seconds. "Have you given any thought to a career after you leave this school, Sirius?"

The boy glanced up, startled. "I...well, not really. I mean, until this summer I think it was assumed I'd not need one..." Shamefacedly, he bit his lip, before a thought struck him and his face brightened. "My Uncle Alphard used to be a curse-breaker for Gringott's Bank, until he had a nasty run-in with a demon in Bali and they offered him a generous retirement proposal. He's living in Bermuda now. Mother always said it was lower class of him to have an occupation that wasn't in the Ministry but it sounded like rather a lot of fun. He always had fantastic stories."

"Yes, I remember Alphard quite well, actually. Not particularly good at Transfiguration, but he was apparently quite brilliant in Defence Against the Dark Arts. Entirely appropriate considering his eventual career." Dumbledore seemed lost in thoughts for a moment or two. "I almost wish to say, Sirius, that you would be wasting your talents in such an occupation, but considering your family...it is a great pity."

"What is, sir?" Sirius frowned. "I don't understand."

"I have already advised Severus Snape to consider a career in the Ministry of Magic, and I plan to do the same with Miss Meadowes and Miss Vance. You, however, are somewhat of an aberration. And this is not entirely due to your family, Mr Black." Blue eyes met grey, the former inquisitive and the latter veiled. "You are...shall we say...somewhat of a troublemaker, are you not?"

"I...yes, I am." Sirius, to his credit, hesitated for barely a split-second before admitting his guilt. "Surely that wouldn't ruin my chances for a Ministry job, would it? After all, my father..." he broke off. "No, I probably shouldn't mention him."

"Your father did his job and did it well, Sirius," Dumbledore stated firmly. "Nobody will argue that point. After all," he added with the shadow of a smile, "nobody ever knew what he got up to, did they?"

"No," Sirius admitted, unable to hold back a rueful smile of his own. "Even after he died. We found out he'd put disintegration spells on everything in his study. Even when the Ministry officials came in to investigate, they never found anything. Just dust."

"You admired him, didn't you?"

"He was my father," he said, simply. He did not elaborate.

Dumbledore nodded, taking the cue to change the subject. "Unfortunately, the career in the Ministry for which your talents would best suit you also has a very stringent hierarchy. And you, as I have noted during your years here, are not entirely well-suited to following orders." Pausing, he looked curiously at Sirius again, "Are you?"

"No, sir," the boy replied, again somewhat shamefaced. "I never have been, really."

"However, if you proved yourself this year and next," he paused, noting the boy's gaze fixed intently upon him, "I could be convinced to put you forth as a candidate for Auror training."

"You would?" Sirius did not bother to hide is surprise. "You'd do that for me, sir?"

"I would, Sirius. I believe everyone deserves second chances." He smiled. "Now, if you would please sent in Miss Meadowes...and Sirius?" he added, as the boy was halfway across the room.

"Yes?"

"Take care."

"I will, sir." With that, he took the stairs two at a time, emerging in front of a thoroughly startled Dorcas Meadowes with a cry of unrestrained triumph. As he dashed off down the corridor, her companion turned to her.

"They're all quite mad in Gryffindor, apparently."

"Not to mention entirely fit," Dorcas added with a wicked grin, just as Sirius came flying back toward them, face flushed. "Something the matter, Black?"

"Just forgot to tell you, Meadowes, you're next," he answered.

She clapped one hand over her heart, almost but not quite hiding her laughter. "You ran all the way back here just to tell me that. How utterly sweet of you."

"Oh, go on!" Emmeline all but shoved her in the direction of the doorway. "Time enough for you two later." As Dorcas vanished up the stairs and Sirius back down the hall, she shook her head with a rueful smile. "Shameless."

Sirius arrived in the Great Hall some five minutes later, the grin still glowing upon his face. James shifted himself so his friend could sit, but could contain himself for no more than five seconds or so before demanding to know what Dumbledore had said.

"Well..." Sirius swallowed a mouthful of eggs, "you have to promise to tell no-one-," he lowered his voice as Peter and Remus leaned across the table to listen in, "If I behave myself for the next two years, he's going to put my name forward for Auror training in the Ministry."

"Blimey!" Peter gasped. "That's fantastic, Padfoot."

"That it is," Remus added with a grin. "Does this mean I'll not have to worry about you all year?"

"I never said I'd be a saint, Moony," his friend retorted good-naturedly. "Merely that I'd behave myself. And I'm sure the Headmaster wouldn't begrudge me a few pranks here and there...I am not made of stone, after all."

Some distance away, Moira Ramsey leant her head on Lily Evans' shoulder as Lily glanced warily in the direction of the four laughing boys.